


Secret Santa Coupons

by HufflepuffLovesPizza



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:34:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffLovesPizza/pseuds/HufflepuffLovesPizza
Summary: Two women get involved in a Secret Santa dating app by their friends.





	Secret Santa Coupons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KizuRai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KizuRai/gifts).



> A Secret Santa gift for KizuRai. Huge apologies for being so late. And apologies on only managing to get one of your prompts in - coffee shop setting but hopefully the trope of meet cute.

“Kathryn, this has got to stop,” Regina furrowed her brows as she typed so hard on her laptop that her keyboard probably would have winced in pain if possible. She had an earpiece on and was talking to her best friend while working on spreadsheets in a nearly empty coffee shop. She paused to look at the perfect red apple she set on the table next to her laptop.

“What are you talking about?” it was asked as question with the voice going up at the end but it wasn’t a question. 

Regina knew her friend Kathryn was feigning innocence, not to mention Kathryn was a lawyer so she was very good at lying. 

“Do not play coy with me. I know you’re the one sending me all these Secret Santa gifts,” Regina looked up from her laptop to take a sip of her coffee. Her eyes briefly glanced around the nearly empty coffee shop. “I got another one this morning. It was a basket of my favorite apples.” 

It was Christmas Eve in the Upper East Side and Regina sat working on a laptop in a practically deserted coffee shop. There was a man sitting in a corner also working on a laptop. An older woman knitting near a window and a bored looking young man wiped down the counters while playing on his phone and waited to take more coffee orders. Even though it was her day off and Christmas Eve, Regina Mills was dressed for her usual business work day attire which meant a skirt and form fitting blouse with matching blazer, hung carefully over the back of her chair along with a heavier winter coat. The coffee shop had a few sparse holiday decorations hung up, but mostly it was business as usual which is why it was Regina’s favorite coffee shop and a second office to get things done. 

“Regina, I promise you on your mother’s life, I’m not the one sending you the gifts,” you could hear the smirk on Kathryn’s face even through the phone. 

“That’s an empty threat as we both know you despise my mother,” Regina smirked while teasing her friend. 

“Okay, then on…” Kathryn didn’t get to finish her second attempt at an empty threat. 

“Don’t you dare Kathryn,” Regina cut her off for fear her friend was going to joke insert her son or her father’s name. “Just stop them, they’re getting a little weird…coming from a friend, no offense.” Regina had a slight blush coloring her cheeks thinking of a few of the gifts and notes. 

“Regina, I do swear I’m not sending you the gifts,” that part wasn’t a lie. Kathryn was a lawyer so she knew her loopholes. 

“Yes, you are. Some of these gifts are only things you know about me,” Regina glanced around the empty coffee shop again. The man briefly looked up and stared at Regina. He looked about mid-thirties and a bit too hipster for Regina’s liking. 

“I swear it’s not me…technically,” Kathryn’s voice came over the earpiece louder and firmer this time. 

“Please, tell me that you are not helping Robin to woo me back or something absurd like that,” Regina let out a long, frustrated sigh. 

“Absolutely not, good riddance to that asshat. Ugh, no,” disdain dripped from Kathryn’s voice.

“Then who? Who has been sending me all these gifts and notes? Spill. It. Now.” Regina spoke slowly and so fiercely she knew she caused a terrified shiver to go up her friend’s spine. 

There was a long pause coming from the other end of the phone. Both women waited each other out. Regina listened closely and continued to wait, she heard an exasperated sigh then Kathryn started speaking again. Regina stopped typing to pay full attention to the explanation on why she was getting secret admirer gifts all through the month of December. 

“Okay, so I might have signed you up for a Secret Santa online,” Kathryn said quietly. 

“Would do you mean?” Regina squinted her eyes as if she was staring hard into her friend’s eyes to intimidate her. 

“Well, I signed you up and you get these gifts and coupons to be used with your Secret Santa,” Kathryn explained. 

“Secret Santa? Coupons?”

Long pause. Regina tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. 

“Kathryn Maria Nolan, if I have to repeat myself one more time…” Regina’s voice grew even more agitated and louder. The older woman stopped her knitting to look over at Regina. 

“Fine, it’s a dating Secret Santa thing. I found this app and thought I would sign you up,” Kathryn couldn’t hide the cringe in her voice, expecting and waiting for her friend to explode on the other side of the phone. She momentarily moved her phone away from her ear in anticipation for the yelling. 

“What?” Regina pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a heavy sigh. “You signed me up for holiday dating service?”

“Yes, but before you get angry. Answer one question, do you like the gifts?”

“Why does that matter?”

Long pause again punctuated with a small whimper and whine from Kathryn. 

“Uhhhhh…because you’re about to meet her in five minutes,” Kathryn rushed out quickly and closed her eyes even though she knew Regina couldn’t see her. 

“WHAT?” Regina stood up suddenly from the table and her eyes frantically scanned the coffee shop for anyone approaching her table. 

“I knew you were going to be working in that coffee shop on Christmas Eve so I told her if she wanted to meet you…she could show up there.”

“She?” Regina’s eyebrows rose higher. 

“Yeah, I figured after Robin, you needed to bat for the home team again.”

“You’re impossible.” Regina sat back down in her chair after making sure no one was entering the coffee shop. 

“Regina, you need a break. You work too hard, just take today and tomorrow off please. She sounds really nice…” Kathryn was about to go on before Regina cut her off. “And I was worried about you since Henry was going to be away this year.”

There was an ache in Regina’s heart. She was upset and lonely her son Henry wasn’t spending Christmas with her. Yet, she totally understood that he couldn’t pass up a fun skiing trip just to hang out with her and bake cookies and watch old silly holiday movies. 

“What does she get out of this besides a brush off in a coffee shop?” Regina tilted her head and scanned the coffee shop for all exits while also watching the windows and doors. 

“Regina Mills you will not brush her off without at least talking with her for a solid seven minutes. I’ve completely vetted her, she’s a good one…a great one,” Kathryn added emphasis on the last part; she had gone through hundreds and almost gave up before finding the perfect Secret Santa for Regina. “Plus, you have been sending her gifts too sort of.” Kathryn added the last part very quickly, almost under breath.

“I’ve been doing what?” Regina raised her voice; she felt her heart beat faster. She was going to kill Kathryn. She couldn’t believe her friend had been sending some random woman presents falsely using her name. Regina lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

Before Regina could launch into a verbal tirade, she felt someone standing near her table. She looked up and saw a stunning blonde woman smiling at her. 

“Hi,” a blonde woman smiled an adorable grin down at Regina. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, snowy streets and her voice was a little breathless and shaky perhaps from nervousness. The blonde woman had a winter cap on with long curls flowing down over her shoulders and a decent pea coat with a striped scarf. 

“Regina Mills?” The blonde asked while pulling her hands out of her winter coat pockets slowly. 

Regina recognized that type of scarf, she looked into the blonde’s green eyes and momentarily forgot what awful torture she was planning for her dear friend Kathryn. She shook her head because Henry had the same scarf and it seemed like a good sign, not she thought she was into ‘signs’ or fate of such, just that this woman was probably not a serial killer. 

“I’ll call you back…I would advise you to lock your doors and gird your loins dear,” Regina slowly annunciated her words for emphasis to scare her dear friend Kathryn for ruining her day of catching up on paperwork. 

“I know you have a weakness for blondes, you can thank me later!” Kathryn said fast with a laugh before Regina hung up on her. 

Regina squinted her eyes as she removed the earpiece; she turned to the blonde and offered a cordial smile. 

“Yes, I’m Regina…” Regina studied the blonde’s face, “…and you are?” She hadn’t meant for her voice to sound quite as harsh as it did. 

“Was this a bad idea? Surprising you?” the blonde was almost posed to flee and run away. 

“Yes, it’s a bad idea…” She was going to go through with the seven minutes to prove Kathryn wrong. “…but please take a seat.”

The blonde turned around and smiled, she took off her knitted hat and her hair wavy curls cascaded over shoulders. She pulled the chair out which made the worst screeching noise across the floor and she clumsily flopped down in the chair across from Regina. Regina gave the blonde an 8+ plus for the smile, she admitted it was pretty dazzling, but then 3.4 for the goofish way the blonde seated herself. However, it did almost make her laugh, so she raised the score to a solid 5.2. Then the blonde undid her coat and revealed a loud Christmas sweater, her score went back down to a 2.8. 

“I can tell you love the sweater,” the blonde made a sweeping hand gesture over the ugly Christmas sweater, there were knitted cats wearing Santa hats. “Here…hold on.” The blonde reached under her sweater and then suddenly the eyes of the cats were blinking with blinding lights. 

Regina didn’t think the sweater could get worse and then it did. She thought, Kathryn really did need to gird her loins, she was going to get her for setting her up with a crazy cat lady. 

“I’m going to turn it off before either of us goes into an epileptic seizure,” the blonde once again dug around underneath her sweater to turn off the annoying blinking cat eye lights. “Well, I’m pretty sure that just ruined any chance of me convincing you that I have any taste at all.” 

Regina wanted to add or getting into my pants, but there was something alluring about the blonde, so the ugly Christmas sweater wasn’t a total deal breaker yet. 

“I’m Emma Swan,” Emma offered her hand to Regina. “I lost a bet so I had to wear the sweater.” 

Regina exhaled a sigh of relief at this revealing information. There was something this Emma said already that left a big question in her head that she needed answered immediately. 

“You said, ‘was this a bad idea surprising me?’ but I told you I was going to be here right?” Regina thought that’s what Kathryn had told her. 

Emma shifted in her seat awkwardly; she pulled her scarf off around her neck and placed in her lap. 

“I figured out that it was your friend sending me the coupons and not you, I figured she signed you up and that you probably didn’t know much before I showed up,” Emma gave a quick smirk to Regina. 

“How did you know it wasn’t me?”

“I can tell when people are lying, yes even through email and texts,” Emma leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. “Also, I’m a cop so I might have done a background check on you.” 

“My tax paying dollars used to stalk me?” Regina didn’t want to admit that this actually impressed her when it probably shouldn’t have. 

“I wasn’t stalking, I just used my resources to find out the email address, applejazzsuits@gmail was a new account created four days before you started emailing me and not that you couldn’t have created the account but the GPS locations were always different from where you were…” Emma’s eyes got really wide realizing she revealed way too much information. “…I wasn’t stalking you, just making sure you weren’t dangerous or your friend.”

Regina folded her arms against her chest and squinted her eyes at Emma. She waited for this dubious blonde to keep talking. 

“Hey, my friend set me up too...so I was being careful,” Emma pulled her arms from the table and folded them against her chest in a matching gesture to Regina. “I don’t know why I came…I’m going to leave you to work…” Emma grabbed the scarf from her lap and put it around her neck. As she was about to stand up, Regina spoke up again. 

“Why are you here on Christmas Eve?” Regina undid her arms and pushed her laptop to the side to clasp her hands on the table and her set her chin on top, staring at Emma. 

“Why are you here on Christmas Eve by yourself?” Emma fired back to Regina. “And working?” She scrunched up her face. 

“Miss Swan, answer my question to you,” Regina tilted her head and glared at Emma. 

Emma knew that she would probably get a more honest answer from Regina if she went first, gut instinct. 

“My roommate and friend Ruby, the one who set me up on this Secret Santa dating app was going to spend the holiday with me like we usually do but her girlfriend wanted to introduce her to her family in Kansas. She’s really the only person I know so...” Emma looked into Regina’s curious eyes then continued on. “I like being alone, being alone doesn’t scare me. When she told me she signed me up for this app to find other people to hang out with on Christmas, I said no way.” Emma looked down and traced patterns on the table with her fingers. “Then she showed me your photo…and well…I said okay.” Her cheeks went pink, admitting that she liked Regina’s photo. 

Regina studied Emma across from her; she had to admit that if Kathryn showed a photo of this blonde to her and told her she had a date with her, she would probably not refuse. There was something about the blonde that she was immediately drawn to and maybe Emma felt that too. 

“You don’t think it’s sad, lonely and desperate?” Regina stared into Emma’s eyes. “To meet someone on Christmas Eve?”

Emma smiled at Regina, keeping the eye contact. “Not really…it’s kind of nice?” She shrugged her shoulders. “I mean look, we almost got this coffee shop to ourselves.” Emma motioned her hands around, only the older woman lifted her head up to glance at them and wave. 

“Why don’t we redeem some of these coupons throughout the day, we could get to know each other in the process,” Emma pulled out two stacks of notecards. She looked down at them pursed her lips, “I think that’s how this works.” 

Regina looked at the two stacks of notecards Emma had placed down in front of herself on the table. 

“Another tipoff, you emailed me to bring all the coupons you have sent me. You didn’t seem like the type of person would forget what you sent me or not be organized enough to not already have them printed and lamented,” Emma kept a firm grip on both stacks of notecards. 

Emma slowly pushed the notecard coupons to the center of the table. Regina reached for them but Emma slammed her hand down hard on the table and pulled the notecards close to her again. 

“No peeking,” Emma raised her eyebrows to Regina. 

“These are my coupons,” Regina’s hand edged closer to the notecard coupons again. 

“Yes, but technically now I know you didn’t send them,” Emma had a smug look on her face. 

“This is ridiculous. I have work to do,” Regina picked up her glasses off the table and went to back to laptop. 

Emma shook her head; she reached across the table, put her hand on top of Regina’s laptop and very gently closed the computer while the brunette gave her a scowl. 

“You are now required to sit here with me and play Secret Santa coupon cards,” Emma then shuffled both stacks of the notecard coupons. 

Regina took off her glasses and put them on top of the now closed laptop. She gave exhaled a deep breath then went about putting her laptop away to make more room on the table for whatever game Emma wanted to play. Regina decided she would take the bait. She was curious what was on those notecard coupons and if this was a game, she was going to win. 

“So is this like poker or Go Fish?” Regina licked her lips. 

Emma watched Regina lick her lips and felt a flutter in her stomach. 

“Are these so called coupons for gifts? Like the ones you gave me?” Regina had to admit, she did like all the gifts this Emma had sent her. 

“No, these are…activities,” this time Emma licked her lips. She smirked when she saw Regina’s eyes watching her and then subconsciously licked her lips again. She had to admit, she loved sending the brunette gifts in hopes of meeting her one day. Everything she learned about Regina was impressive. 

Regina wasn’t sure she liked the word ‘activities’, what kind of online thing had Kathryn signed her up for? Was it some sort of BDSM thing? She supposed she thought, she could try it if her partner was Emma. 

“How many of these coupon cards do I have to redeem?” Regina ran a hand through her hair. 

“10,” Emma said firmly staring into Regina’s eyes. 

“Absolutely not,” Regina leaned back in her chair. 

“Okay…then 12,” Emma leaned back in her chair. 

“Miss Swan, do you not know how the rules of battering go?” 

“I do.” Emma brought her chair down and leaned over the table, closer to Regina. “14. It’s going to go up higher every time you protest.”

“You’re an idiot,” Regina brought her chair and leaned in getting a few inches from Emma’s face. “5,” the brunette said slowly challenging Emma. 

“16,” Emma got even closer, she could feel Regina’s breath on her face and damn the woman smelled good. 

“8 and that is my final offer,” Regina bit her lip as she stared hard at Emma. 

“20,” Emma’s eyes lowered and stared at Regina’s lip bite. 

Regina thought to herself that this might be the most maddening woman she’s ever met and she’s only known her for five minutes. Her breathing quicken, her throat grow dry while another part of anatomy begin to dampen. 

“Fine…” Regina gritted through her teeth although her heart was racing and she felt a tad breathless staring at the blonde. “…10.”

“Deal,” Emma outstretched her hand to shake on it. 

The two women shook hands over the table. Regina noticed that Emma’s hand was warm and very soft; she felt a spark when their hands joined together. Emma ran her thumb over Regina’s thumb causing both woman to pause and stare at each other. Unbeknownst to them, the older woman knitting stopped and motioned for the guy behind the counter to look over to the two women. She made a hand gesture as if the coffee shop was getting hotter. 

“Here is your stack of notecard coupons, pick any ten coupons and I will do them,” Emma intended it sound suggestive and she succeeded. 

Regina’s felt like she had just taken a shot of hard whiskey. Now she felt like she needed a hot of hard whiskey, warmth swept through her entire body. What was going on? She hadn’t been in a date in awhile, Robin had been a disaster and life was much better living without any of that nonsense. However, sitting across from this Emma Swan, she doubted her stance on that idea. She picked up the stack of notecard coupons and started going through them. Her body really hoped there was a ‘ _Going to second base_ ’ card that could be redeemed right away. Her mind said that was a terrible idea and hoped there was a ‘ _Talking about career goals_ ’ card. 

“I want to use this one as my first coupon today,” Emma put a coupon card down on the card face up towards Regina. 

Regina picked up the ridiculous coupon and read aloud, “Redeem this coupon for a walk through Central Park with hot chocolate.” She arched her eyebrows and stared at Emma. 

“I like lots of whipped cream and cinnamon on top on mine please.” Emma batted her eyelashes at Regina. 

“I’m allowed to have veto power over some of this so called coupons,” Regina stated as she perused the cards in her hands. “I will allow that coupon.” 

Emma rolled her eyes at Regina and went back to pick her next coupon. 

Regina picked her first coupon and slid it across the table towards Emma. 

“This coupon could possibly be used later.” 

The coupon read ‘ _Going to a jazz concert_.’ 

Emma smiled, she was happy Regina picked a coupon to be used later, which meant hopefully she would see the brunette again. 

Regina took out one coupon with disdain. “A coupon for a baseball night with hot dogs, beer and popcorn.” She tore the coupon up into little pieces and left a small pile on the table. 

“They can’t all be winners,” Emma frowned a little watching the coupon being torn to shreds. 

Regina elevated her cards to peer over them at Emma. 

“Please, tell me there isn’t a lap dancing coupon,” Regina locked her eyes on Emma who blushed in the most adorable way. 

“Oh, I’m saving that one for later,” Emma pretended to look down at her coupons but nearly giggled by the look on the brunette’s face. 

“In that case, I’m going to use this ‘ _Streaking down 34th street completely naked_ ’ coupon,” Regina lowered her cards and smirked. 

“What?” Emma’s mouth was wide open. 

Regina had a truly evil grin and she continued to stare down Emma. “And I’ll redeem this one too, ‘ _Singing Dancing Queen loudly and out of tune at a karaoke bar_.’” She arched one eyebrow this time at Emma. 

“Then I’m going to redeem this one, ‘ _Clean my apartment in a revealing French maid costume_ ,’” Emma couldn’t help but inhale as she shifted in her chair thinking of Regina in that kind of outfit, the ugly Christmas sweater felt way too hot right now. 

After going through all their coupons and agreeing on ten for each and a few coffee and scones later, both women stared at each other and noticed the fading light outside. 

“Would you like to redeem this coupon right now,” Emma showed Regina a coupon that read, ‘Nice dinner at your choice of restaurant.’ The blonde gave a shy smile to Regina. 

Regina nodded so they both gathered up their belongings and headed for the door. They deposited their few belongings on a bench by the entrance so they could button up their coats to leave the coffee shop.

“I think I would like to redeem this coupon right now,” Regina motioned up to the ceiling where some mistletoe hung over an exit archway to the coffee shop. She showed the coupon to Emma that read, ‘ _Chaste kiss under mistletoe_.’ 

Emma took the coupon from Regina’s hand and leaned into her personal space. She licked her lips and paused for a moment before landing her lips on Regina’s waiting lips. Even though the two women had just met, there was an electricity and warmth that shot through both of them and their hands wrapped around each other. 

“You’re a rule breaker, there was nothing chaste about that kiss under mistletoe,” Emma had a wide grin on her face. She pulled Regina in for another kiss. 

ANNOYING RING TONE. ANNOYING RING TONE. 

The two women reluctantly pulled apart slightly. Regina pulled her phone from her coat and looked at the screen; she wanted to scream in frustration at the interruption until she saw it was Henry’s face lighting up her phone. She pulled slightly away from Emma, but not entirely. 

“Henry, are you okay my darling?” She spoke in a soft, gentle voice. 

Emma had two strong feelings waging war in her heart at the moment. One she was so extremely disappointed that she had to stop kissing Regina, two she was even more smitten with Regina that she was the type of woman to stop everything to make sure her kid was okay. 

Regina hung up her phone, glanced down at her feet then slowly made eye contact with Emma. 

“I need to go, that’s my son Henry…he wants to spend Christmas with me,” she gave a shrug but a warm smile betrayed her at the happiness of spending the holiday with her son. 

“You can’t miss that, before you know it he will be jetting off and spending Christmas with his girlfriend’s family,” Emma let some jealous seep into her thoughts and voice. 

They stood awkwardly staring at each other. 

“What are you doing on New Year’s Eve?” Regina felt shy all of sudden, she didn’t do shy. Why was she afraid she might not see Emma again if they didn’t make firm plans right now? 

“Probably waiting at the top of the Empire State building in case you show up?” Emma watch as Regina raised her eyebrows in alarm. “I’m kidding, probably hanging out with my buddy Netflix.” 

“I have to go to mom’s annual New Year’s slash kiss up to the client party.” Regina shuddered in pain at the awfulness of the past parties she’s been subjected to by her mother. 

“Ouch, that does not sound like fun,” Emma reached over to the bench to grab her scarf and put it around her neck. 

“It’s not…would you like to be my date?” Regina grabbed her scarf and wrapped her neck, purposely avoiding eye contact with Emma in case she was rejected. Again, she scolded herself. She forced herself to look back at the blonde. 

“At a boring party where I have to meet your mom after only going on one date with you?” Emma rubbed her chin with her fingers and put on her best fake thinking pose. “Sure, why not.” She smiled at Regina. 

Regina picked up the coupons from the bench and looked through them. She picked one and handed it to Emma. 

“Emma, this card will be redeemed that night.” Regina leaned to hug Emma goodbye for now. She ran her lips across Emma’s neck, inhaling with her nose buried in her wavy blonde locks. “And for much longer and deeper.” She could hear the blonde audibly gulp and chuckled. 

Emma smiled, as she watched Regina gather her briefcase and purse and leave the coffee shop, glancing over her shoulder. For the first time ever, she was actually looking forward to the new year. 

The coupon read – ‘ _Kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve_.’


End file.
